Former Detroit Lions player John Baker Jr. dies

October 31, 2007 at 4:59 PM EST - Updated June 30 at 6:48 PM

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Former Detroit Lions player John Baker Jr. has died. He was 72.

Baker was a Raleigh, N.C., native who attended North Carolina Central University on a football scholarship. He went on to play in the NFL for a dozen years with the Lions, Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers.

After leaving professional football, Baker returned to Raleigh and served as the Wake County sheriff for almost 25 years, from 1978 until 2002.